1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle washing apparatus for washing vehicles of different sizes, and more particularly, to a vehicle washing apparatus movable on an internally heated track to wash a vehicle while the vehicle remains stationary within the apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Automatic vehicle washing systems come in two general types including movable washing systems and stationary washing systems. With the movable washing systems, a vehicle remains stationary in a car washing bay while the vehicle washing apparatus moves around the vehicle while washing the vehicle. In contrast, in stationary vehicle washing systems, the vehicle is moved by a motorized track through the stationary washing apparatus. The stationary washing systems may include a plurality of stations, such as, a washing station, a rinsing station, a wax application station, and a drying station. These stationary washing systems with multiple stations are generally larger and take up more space than the movable systems.
One example of a movable vehicle washing system includes an overhead track of a generally rectangular shape which is sized to correspond to the general size of the vehicles to be washed. A washing tower is movable on the overhead track and includes spray nozzles and/or brushes for cleaning the vehicle. The tower extends downward from the track and moves around the vehicle by wheels which travel along the rectangular shaped overhead track. However, these systems employing a movable tower for vehicle cleaning have a fixed track configuration and a single rectangular path along which the tower travels. Therefore, the track must be sized to accommodate the largest vehicle which is to be cleaned by the vehicle washing apparatus. Accordingly, when a vehicle is cleaned which is substantially smaller than the size of the track, the tower and spray nozzles will travel along a path which is much larger than the vehicle. With this system, some surfaces of the vehicle may not be adequately be cleaned. Particularly, the front and back of the vehicle will not be cleaned well if they are too far from the high pressure spray nozzles and/or brushes. In addition, some large vehicles may not be able to be accommodated in the movable washing system because the track size is too small for these vehicles.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to be able to accommodate vehicles of different lengths in a movable vehicle washing system by adjusting the system for different vehicle lengths.